1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to terminators and CATV coaxial connectors, and more particularly, to a terminator having an improved construction.
2. Technical Background
Cable transmission systems are in wide use throughout the world for transferring television signals, and other types of signals, between devices. For example, a typical CATV system utilizes coaxial cables to provide signal communication between a head end and distributed receiver sets. A conventional CATV system includes a permanently installed cable extending from the head end throughout the area to be served. Various devices, such as directional taps, are spaced along the cable. Individual subscribers are serviced by a drop cable connected to a selected terminal of an equipment box or other device. The terminals that extend from the equipment box are externally threaded female coaxial ports designed to receive a conventional F-connector provided at the end of the drop cable. A terminator is typically affixed to each of the unused terminals of the equipment to maintain proper impedance along the signal transmission path.
In some cases, the equipment to which the drop cables are connected must be located in public areas, and the terminals may be readily accessible to the public. Such circumstances might permit unauthorized persons to move a drop cable from one port to another port, diverting service from a paying subscriber to a non-paying user. In an effort to prevent unauthorized access to the system, suppliers to the CATV industry have provided a type of terminator referred to as tamper-resistant or theft-proof. Typical examples of such tamper resistant terminators are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,454 (Hayward, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,979 (Bodenstein); U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,386 (Ackerman); U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,060 (Down); U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,312 (Yeh); U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,546 (Perry); and U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,271 (Burris, et al). A special tool, not generally available to the public, is required for installation and removal of such tamper resistant terminators from the equipment ports to which they are attached.
In other cases, the equipment to which the drop cables are connected are located in relatively secure areas and do not required a tamper-proof termination system. Terminators applied in said application are typically more simplified in their design and, as a result, are of lower cost.
In either case, the current state of the art has been to employ a cylindrical carbon type resistive element that is axially in-line with the components comprising the terminator assembly. The overall length of the resistive element and the cylindrical nature of the design of the resistive element necessitate the use of correspondingly long related components resulting in a relatively long assembly. Electrical tuning of this type of arrangement is somewhat limited by the structural aspect of the arrangement of components and is further limited by the nature of the resistive element itself. Additionally, it is typical to mount the resistive element within a separate component, or holder, often attached to the resistive element by means of a solder joint and is then in turn assembled within the final assembly by means of a press fit. In such configurations, the diameter of the electrical lead of the resistive element is typically required to be less than the diameter of the cable center conductor it is intended to emulate.